Locomotor Adaptations in the First Hominids in Europe
with Tea Jashashvilli, Philip Rightmire, and David Lordkipanidze
Using a comparative approach that combines data from other fossil hominids as well as insights from experimental work on locomotor biomechanics, we are investigating locomotor performance in the fossil hominids at the site of Dmanisi in the Republic of Georgia. Fossils from Dmanisi are 1.8 million years old, and mark the earliest evidence of hominids outside of Africa.
with David Raichlen and Steig Johnson
In collaboration with TenXys Inc. , we are developing new technologies to asess locomotion and physiology in field settings. These new technologies are collar based and will be employed on a wide variety of taxa to understand how primates expend energy in their natural habitats. Does the amount of energy they expend on locomotion change when resources become scarce? Does habitat disturbance influence energy balance?